I’ve long been a fan of Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, and always will be, but there’s a new cat cafe in London that’s won my heart and that’s why I’ve started visiting The London Cat Village.

Photos by Snap55For those of you unfamiliar with the cat cafe format it’s essentially a cafe with cats in it. You do not eat the cats, and the cats are not for sale, they live there permanently. There is food like a normal cafe, to be eaten by the humans, not the cats. There are lots of fun things for the cats in the environment, and toys so you can play with them.

The London Cat Village is new, which means there are kittens, four in total, three Ragdoll brothers and on Scottish fold, all adorable. There are also older cats and teens, with fairly playful temperaments.

Although some of the breeds are exotic pure-breds many of the cats are rescue cats with interesting backstories. On my two visits, I found the staff mixed, some were helpful and attentive, clearly passionate about the cats, while others seemed disinterested or perhaps still learning who was who.

The food didn’t seem anything particularly exciting but you come for the cats not for the cakes.  One of the problems I’ve encountered with Lady Dinah’s is it’s just too popular and can be difficult to get reservations outside of weekday working hours.

The London Cat Village, also in Shoreditch, had been open a few weeks but with much less hype than its original crazy cat lady counterpart. With less hype comes less competition for bookings and I’ve been able to go twice by making a booking just a day in advance. It’s with much hesitation that I write this blog now for fear of the word getting out and the place filling up…

Photos by Snap55